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| “Sermon of Christ at the Lake Genezareth” by David Vinckboons, 1623 |
Reading I: 1 John 4:19–5:4
Beloved, we love God because
he first loved us.
If anyone says, “I love God,”
but hates his brother, he is
a liar;
for whoever does not love a
brother whom he has seen
cannot love God whom he has
not seen.
This is the commandment we
have from him:
Whoever loves God must also
love his brother.
Everyone who believes that
Jesus is the Christ is begotten by God,
and everyone who loves the
Father
loves also the one begotten
by him.
In this way we know that we
love the children of God
when we love God and obey his
commandments.
For the love of God is this,
that we keep his
commandments.
And his commandments are not
burdensome,
for whoever is begotten by
God conquers the world.
And the victory that conquers
the world is our faith.
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Commentary on 1 Jn
4:19–5:4
This passage from
St. John’s
The link forged
by the Great Commandment of loving God and loving neighbor is strengthened by St. John
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 72:1-2, 14 and 15bc, 17
R. (see 11) Lord, every nation on earth will adore
you.
O God, with your judgment
endow the king,
and with your justice, the
king’s son;
He shall govern your people
with justice
and your afflicted ones with
judgment.
R. Lord, every nation on
earth will adore you.
From fraud and violence he
shall redeem them,
and precious shall their
blood be in his sight.
May they be prayed for
continually;
day by day shall they bless
him.
R. Lord, every nation on
earth will adore you.
May his name be blessed
forever;
as long as the sun his name
shall remain.
In him shall all the tribes
of the earth be blessed;
all the nations shall
proclaim his happiness.
R. Lord, every nation on
earth will adore you.
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Commentary on Ps 72:1-2,
14 and 15bc, 17
The royal psalm,
Psalm 72, is continued for a third day with the same first verses and the same
antiphon being used. The song of
adoration continues as the promise of justice is extended from just the poor
and marginalized to the promise to deal with those who prey upon the
upright. The passage concludes with a
blessing of God’s kindness and mercy proclaiming the universal peace that will
flow to all mankind. Once again, while
the originally this psalm was song by the king, we see in it God’s promise and
the eternal rule of peace and justice brought by the Messiah.
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Gospel: Luke 4:14-22
Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit,
and news of him spread
throughout the whole region.
He taught in their synagogues
and was praised by all.
He came to Nazareth
and went according to his
custom
into the synagogue on the
sabbath day.
He stood up to read and was
handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah.
He unrolled the scroll and
found the passage where it was written:
The Spirit of the Lord
is upon me,
because he has anointed
me
to bring glad tidings to
the poor.
He has sent me to
proclaim liberty to captives
and recovery of sight to
the blind,
to let the oppressed go
free,
and to proclaim a year
acceptable to the Lord.
Rolling up the scroll, he
handed it back to the attendant and sat down,
and the eyes of all in the
synagogue looked intently at him.
He said to them,
“Today this Scripture passage
is fulfilled in your hearing.”
And all spoke highly of him
and were amazed at the
gracious words that came from his mouth.
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Commentary on Luke 4:14-22
This selection
from St. Luke’s Gospel takes place immediately following the Lord’s Baptism by St. John Galilee
is also documented in St. Matthew’s Gospel (Matthew 4:12-17). Here the Lord begins his public ministry with
a straightforward statement of his identity and mission; “The Spirit of
the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the
poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to
the blind, to let the oppressed go free”. This announcement of Isaiah’s prophecy (Isaiah 61:1-2) being
fulfilled tells the audience he is the Messiah who came bringing them
salvation.
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Reflection:
The great Feast of the
Epiphany continues to shine its light on the Nativity of the Lord. The Kings from the East continue their praise
and homage of the Savior who has entered the world. Even as we join them, imagining the Holy
Family in the humble manger in Bethlehem
As much as we would like to
linger with the Christ Child St. Luke calls us to take up his mission. The Gospel reminds us that the baby born in Bethlehem St. John
He reminds us that if we have faith in Christ then our
love of others will be clearly seen. It
is a bold statement punctuated with human action that supplements our prayer
and sacramental grace. If we love Christ
we must love others, the two are insuperable.
It is like the sacrament of marriage.
If that sacrament exists it cannot be broken. The bond between those so joined is
unbreakable. If we love Christ we must
express that love as he did loving all with whom we have contact.
The chain of theological logic stretches out its hand to
us today and shows us that even as we recall the Magi and the Christ Child, we
must express our love for that moment by loving even those who hate us. Our prayer today is that God gives us the
strength to do just that.
Pax
[2]
The picture is “Sermon of Christ at the Lake Genezareth
[3]
The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the
Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for
English in Liturgy (ICEL). This
re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[4]
From “Introduction
to the Epistles of John” New American Bible (NAB)
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